Hi Everyone,
I was wondering if anyone know what this tool was used for? It is a smooth metal blade with a rectangular piece of metal soldered (welded?) to it. There are no sharp edges. The base of the blade has non-symetrical curves where it joins the handle. The blade also has a slight curve about 2/3 of the way.
Thanks so much for your help.
Interesting. I'd say some sort of scraper, but it would help if what kind of trade/skill that toolbox is for.
Thanks DYIer! It was in a plumbers toolbox, but so were a lot of other ordinary tools. The edge of the blade is blunt, so not sure it was used for scraping. If you look closely at the upper corners of the welded piece, you will see wear.
Originally, I thought the end was a magnet, but it is not.
What a mystery!
For packing lead in the pipeline use way back in timr
Wow! Thanks Bikerchico!!
I guess the user wanted it to be a little wider and just added another piece of metal to the end. My family demonstrated a lot of ingenuity, especially when cash was tight.
Thanks again!
Good call Bikerchico Olivas! :clapping::hattip::thumbsup:
Looks like it's also called a "caulking iron".
I agree, it must have been used to the drive oakum into the bell of the pipe joint before pouring the lead.
Probably almost a lost and forgotten art.
This a tool used to wipe joints in Lead pipes, that is why the wear is on the flat face. A common plumbers tool of yesteryear.
I've seen these before and they were being used to scrape the "ways" on machine tool slides. A machinist would scrape-in the slides to make them move freely without leaving any play in them. ... Most of the ones I saw were home made.
A caulking iron then. Good to know! With the prevalence of PVC, it's no wonder that tool isn't so common nowadays.
I agree that it is an oakum packing tool used in joining large iron pipes way back in the day - probably before the 40's. There were all kinds of "packers", some bent to the right, some to the left, to get around pipes close to walls and corners. Funky tool - you can improvise with it after cleaning though it probably won't wind up at the top of your tool kit.
Hi Buzzpa,
I like your explanation... although I do not understand ways and slides. My uncle was a machinist, and to me, the polished wear on the corners is consistent with rapid movement.
I will never use this tool and the next generation will not appreciate it. Is there a market for such a tool?
Thanks for your help.
There seems to be a market for everything. There is an old-tool group in Rockville, MD that has occasional shows/sales of old tools where something like your tools would be displayed for sale. I am sure that there are others all over the country - try Googling to find one near you (and I have an old bottle capper that I want to sell.....)
Feel free to list this tool and any others in our Classifieds subforum.
Posts there will be in front of a lot of eyes each day - belonging to exactly the sort of potential buyer who might take an interest in old and/or unusual tools.
Ken